Why SSU?

What makes St. Stephen's University so distinct?

Size Makes All The Difference

St. Stephen’s University is the smallest university in Canada, only accepting up to 30 new students each year. This allows us to create a totally unique learning community in which everyone knows each other, and professors share daily life with students. Instead of being anonymous in a large university, at SSU we’ll get to know you. You can come as you are and figure out who you want to be – we welcome students from a wide variety of backgrounds and stages in life’s journey. We believe that as we live and journey together, finding beauty in ourselves and others, together we will grow in maturity. Most other universities are about programs, facilities and knowledge transfer; our aim is to create a caring, accepting environment that helps build a strong foundation for independent adult life. In this kind of environment, we believe that students are much better prepared to learn and excel academically, partly because of our outstanding faculty and unique pedagogy, and partly because we can actually get to know each individual student and how they learn best. This allows us to provide a rigorous academic experience for each student, preparing them for their career or for further study.

A Community Like No Other

We are a Liberal Arts university centred around a Christian community; we aren’t like Christian universities that have quite strict rules and entry requirements, with statements of belief to sign and services to attend. We try and create an environment where everyone is free to think and make decisions for themselves, respectful of everyone else in the community. We love to learn from each other as we share daily life in a big old hotel.

And then of course there’s the travel. Rather than sticking you in a foreign country for a while, charging you big bucks and calling it a travel program, we travel the world together. You and your whole class will travel with your professors for 6 weeks in Asia and another 7-8 weeks in Europe, in two separate travel semesters. For full credit! And all for only $1000 more than a standard term in St. Stephen!

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“During my four years in the SSU community I have discovered that the people here know how to keep a balance between seriousness and silliness. I absolutely love that I have the freedom and opportunity to talk about my faith, my schoolwork, and share a laugh with my professors every day. SSU truly is a beautiful entanglement of seriousness and silliness.”

David McCallumGuelph, ON

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“Life at SSU is like living a miracle. Despite being from among the broken dysfunctional youth of the 21st century, we manage to have stimulating classes with engaging professors, bonfires with guitars and roasted-black sausages, and bonding moments on travelling trips. We at SSU learn to love despite our various quirks and incapabilities. That is a miracle that goes on.”

Jen Ngo Hong Kong

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“SSU proved to be an invaluable foundation for further education. When I graduated, I worried that other schools might pick me last for acceptance or that I wouldn’t be ready for an institutional education. But, I have since attended three universities and found myself teaching other students because of my interdisciplinary, experience-based education from SSU.”

Luke WilsonCarlisle, ON

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“I originally came to SSU for the travel terms. Experiencing the Grand Tour of Europe and exploring Southeast Asia while getting a B.A. was an opportunity too good to miss. Yet though I came to SSU for the promised adventures, I ultimately stayed for the people. Classmates and professors have profoundly influenced me with their passion for social justice, their appreciation for art in all its forms, and their ability to see beauty where I had forgotten to look for it.”

Karis TaylorVentura, CA

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"I originally enrolled at SSU because of the classes offered and the lure of travelling the world, but I quickly discovered much more than that. Here, everyday life offers opportunities for a heart-to-heart with professors and classmates about anything from the trivial and nonsensical, to the intensely political and personal, to the vibrantly academic and philosophical, or the enlighteningly spiritual.

Alicia Farnham Waterville, NB

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“St. Stephen’s University was an exceptional experience for my undergrad degree. The friends I’ve made have deeply affected my life, while the travel and course material have begun a lifelong journey in learning. SSU’s programs, professors and faculty are second to none and it has been a privilege for me to spend the last four years at St. Stephen’s University.”

Zarchari Smith Kelowna, BC

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“At no other school could you hang out with monks, hike through a jungle and swim in the South China Sea all in one day. These semesters have broadened my perspective of the world while inspiring me to be more intentional in my responsibilities as a global citizen. I was grateful for the open environment at the school in which professors and fellow students alike encourage free-thinking growth, both academically and spiritually.”

Cara FitchBurlington, ON

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“The challenge of living in community, coupled with the intimacy of the small classroom, the opportunity to develop real relationships with one’s professors, and the interaction with Christian students from different denominations and cultures has allowed me to grow in ways that would not have been possible anywhere else.”